Key purse



Au 31, 1937. P. w. HOVEY El AL KEY PURSE Filed April 2'7, 1936 Patented Aug. 31, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT orrlcr.

KEY PURSE Application April 27, 1936, Serial No. 76,548

3 Claims.

This invention, a key purse, presents a distinct improvement over key purses or key retainers which are now commercially produced, due to the fact that the individual key rings need not be 5 removed from the, holder whenremoval or replacement of keyson therings isdesired.

Present styles. of key retainers are made in such manner that a key cannot be removed. or replaced fromor on. any of the key rings without first removing the. ring from the holder. The rings are usually made in the form of a loop of spring wire, with complementary semi-spherical heads secured on the respective ends of the loop, and forming the swivel and retaining means for the ring, while the holder usually has a sliding,

spring-urged latch or other resiliently urged locking means. When the resilient urging means weakens or breaks, the retainer is made inoperable.

This invention provides a key ring of similar general form, except removal from the holder is not required for removal or replacing of keys, and, one end of the loopis longer than the other end and has a single swivel and retaining element aflixed thereon, which may be of spherical form, or half sphere or disc placed at right angles as related to existing types, the shorter loop end terminating in spaced relation to the retaining element or head.

Also, the holder differentiates in being formed as a spring or convoluted element threaded through a spacer, which may be formed of flexible or resilient material, the rings being difiicultly removable from the holder, and then only against the inherent resistance and through the resiliency of adjacent convolutions.

This flexible or resilient spacer and flexible holder provides flexibility of the entire unit to a degree unobtainable with other methods of construction, since the usual structure does not permit of the use of resilient or flexible securing elements and associated parts,

The objects of the invention are therefore as follows;

First; to provide a key holder which is flexible throughout its entire structure.

Second; to provide a key holder in which keys can be removed from or placed on the key rings without removal of the rings from the holder.

Third; to provide a key holder in which the key rings are diflicultly removable from the holder.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the following description 5:, is read on the drawing forming a part of this specification, and in which similar reference characters are used to designate. similar parts throughout the several. views, of which;

Fig. l is an enlarged fragmentary view of the key purse with the invention fully shown.

Fig. 2 is a section taken on line 22 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3' is a fragmentary view illustrating, one step in the method of applying and removing keys.

The purse 10 may be formed of any desired 1U material, such as leather or fabric, and of substantially the same form as in existing types of purses, therefore does not form a part of the invention except in the combinations with the other elements.

The key rings I I are formed'of spring material, such as stainless steel, and are made in the form of a loop in which one leg l 2 is longer than the other leg l3.

Afiixed to the end of the long leg I2 is a swivel element or head, such as a sphere I4, or a disc or semi-sphere l5, and the short leg l3 terminates in spaced relation to the head It or I5 as shown at IS, the terminal end ll of the short leg being inwardly retracted toward the loop as shown.

The holder consists in its preferred form of a spring IS, the pitch of which is less than the diameter of the head M or l5, whereby the heads are locked between the helices or convolutions, while the loop is free to swing in any direction.

This spring may be of other forms than circular, such as elliptical, or may be formed by slotting a tube, in which case, for assembly, the head is fed into the end of the tube to the position desired, and the long leg inserted through a slot and secured in the head.

The locking device consists of a resilient or flexible plate l9 which has formed adjacent one of its longer edges, a series of holes 20 with a pitch between holes equal to the pitch of the spring, which spring is .threaded through the series of holes as shown, and which is readily accomplished, since the spring can be screwed directly through the series of holes. After the locking device, holder, and rings are assembled, 45 the ends 2| of'the spring are bent in to prevent displacement or removal of the spring from the locking device. The locking device is secured to the folder or back ID by known means such as eyelets 22.

It will be noted that the spacer or locking device |9 forms means to prevent spreading of the spring, and in standard construction it has been ascertained that a pull of about eighty pounds is required to pull the head It or IE out from between the helices, and therefore, the key rings may be considered as non-removable.

The operation of the holder is as follows;

When a key is to be removed, it is first moved from position 23, (which is the normal position), to the position 24, Fig. 3, and then forced out between the legs at 25, the leg l3 resiliently cooperating with the leg l2. The ring is not removed for this operation.

Similarly, when a key is to be placed on a ring, it is first inserted within the loop, transversely, as shown at 26, then moved upwardly to position 24, Fig. 3, until the cooperating portion of leg l3 falls through the key-ring hole 27, the key then being given a slight twist to pass the leg l3 through the hole 21, and next forced down, when it will be secured in the loop H as shown.

Since the spacer l9, cover [0, and spring l8 are all resilient or flexible, the entire unit is therefore resilient or flexible, and since the rings are substantially non-removable, keys cannot readily be lost from the purse.

It will be understood that variations in construction and arrangement of parts, which variations are consistent with the appended claims, may be resorted to without detracting from the spirit or scope of the invention, or sacrificing any of the advantages thereof.

We claim:

1. In a key purse, a key ring comprising a 1001) of resilient material terminating in a long leg and a resiliently cooperating short leg, a head afiixed to the end of said long leg, said short leg terminating in spaced relation to said head, and a ring holder comprising a spiral element having a pitch greater than the thickness of the material of the ring, and less than the diameter of the head; and a thin spacing element having a series of holes spaced at intervals equal to the pitch of said spiral element, said spiral element being threaded through said series of holes to prevent spreading of the spiral element.

, 2. In a key purse, a key ring comprising a loop of resilient material terminating in a long leg and a resiliently cooperating short leg, a head afiixed to the end of said long leg, said short leg terminating in spaced relation to said head; a ring holder comprising a spring having a series of coils with a pitch less than the diameter of said head, and means cooperating with the individual coils, on one side of said spring to prevent spreading between coils.

3. In a key purse having key rings each provided with a head, a ring holder comprising a resilient spiral element having a pitch less than the diameter of the head, and means maintaining adjacent spirals of said spiral element against spreading.

PRESTON W. HOVEY. RALEIGH L. MILLER. 

